Life with classmates in quarantine

Graphic by Kylee Weber

Having a teammate or classmate in quarantine can be extremely frustrating. With coronavirus still alive and well, many teams are being burdened with a teammate having to go into isolation. Although this is a very good thing because our school is being extremely careful about the safety of all our students and faculty, it can be hard to practice and progress in your sport with not all of your team. It is also difficult to learn in a class where some people are in quarantine and some are not.

In my experience, cheerleading is a hard sport to practice with teammates in quarantine. Everyone has a place in cheerleading, so when a cheerleader goes into quarantine, a stunt group loses a flyer. The next day, another cheerleader goes into quarantine, and we lose a base of another group -- and by just two cheerleaders being in quarantine, we are down two entire stunt groups. 

On the other hand, it has been quite the learning experience. When a project requires you to work as a group, or someone who is a main part of the class is put in quarantine, it is extremely difficult to get work done. It is especially difficult to learn and retain information when the teacher is put into quarantine. When this happens and the whole class is put online -- but then just a couple of weeks later, everyone is back in class -- things begin to get lost in translation. This can lead to grades starting to slip, knowledge retention going down the drain and more than likely classes needing to be retaken in the future. 

In the last couple of weeks, entire teams have been placed in quarantine for the safety of students. This precautionary quarantine is a protective measure taken to try and prevent the further spread of coronavirus. This means hundreds of students have been placed on quarantine, including myself. This has affected the entire campus; most teachers have decided to have online class and work through Zoom or Blackboard, for the safety of themselves, their families and their students. 

Most people agree that this remote learning is difficult, but the safer we keep everyone, the better, which will hopefully mean a return to normalcy at some point in the near future.